Learning
by omgluvr24
Summary: Daine and Numair are still in love but they haven't told anyone. Sadly for them, they are not very good at keeping secrets and their friends are unusually perceptive.


Post Realms of the Gods, Pre 'everyone finds out' (so, if you read my other stories, before Secrets Revealed begins. Sort of. They don't really go together...)

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"Alright, magelet, let's try this again. 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, no, Daine what are you doing?" Numair asked her, exasperated.

"I'm _trying _to juggle." She replied as the leather balls dropped to the ground.

"No, you need to scoop your hands when they're down, and when the arc ends, you throw it up, and then you move the other hand into it's place and move it to the side to catch one of the balls. Get it?" Daine nodded. "Good, try it now."

Daine threw them up all at once and they flew, one landing on Numair's head. "Daine!" He snapped.

"Alright, I'm trying!" Daine began to juggle successfully when a new voice broke her concentration.

"What are you doing?" Onua asked as she approached them.

"I was juggling, until you broke my concentration." Daine was starting to get annoyed. Why must everyone continue to interrupt her? She was getting sort of good at it. "It's so hard."

"That's what she said." Onua muttered.

"What was that, Onua?" Numair asked, leaning on the fence behind him.

"Nothing." She said quickly. "Why are you bothering to learn this, Daine? Anyway, the king want's you both, along with Alanna. If I didn't know any better, he's going to send you all somewhere."

"Thanks, Onua. Come on, Numair, you'll teach me the rest later." Daine said, tugging on her teacher's arm.

"Oh, joy." He replied sarcastically.

"Don't you give me that attitude, Master Salmalin, you _are _my teacher, it's your job to teach me stuff." She said as they walked back to the palace.

"I'm your teacher in Wild Magic, I'm teaching you to juggle as a friend, it was not in the job description that I would have to teach an eye-hand coordinating challenged person how to juggle." He said jokingly.

"Hey, I wasn't doing that bad, the balls were up in the air until Onua came." She protested.

"Daine, you were only using two balls. Juggling is done with three. Beleive me, this could take a while."

"Well, then." She said, pretending to be offended as they walked into the King's meeting room.

"'Well, then' what?" Alanna asked as Daine sat next to her and Numair on Daine's other side.

"Numair is insulting my juggling skills." Daine said, taking up her imaginary offense again.

"That's not true, you need skills for them to be insulted.

"He's teaching you to juggle?" Alanna asked, both of them ignoring the mage.

"She asked me, I did not volunteer and I wouldn't have agreed if I had known someone could be so bad at tossing stuff, but I promised her." Numair explained.

Jon walked in with Thayet coming after him. "Hello Alanna, Numair, Daine. I'm sure you're all wondering why you are here and I will tell you in a moment but-"

"There's always a catch." Alanna whispered to the pair, loud enough for the monarchs to hear.

Jon ignored Alanna "I would like to say that Thayet and I thank you very much for your help with fighting the Immortals. With that said, we are giving you all a break to Pirate's Swoop. And, just in case the Swoop gets attacked, we're sending a rider group with you." Daine and Alanna smiled. A break, even if it would most likely be rather short because whenever Jon couldn't let them leave for long, he never told them how long they could stay, would be very welcome.

"Numair, isn't that great? Numair?" Daine turned to look at her teacher and saw that he had fallen asleep on his chair. She hid a smile behind her and and shook his arm to rouse him.

"What?" Numair asked groggily once he was awake.

"We're going to Pirate's Swoop. Come on, you have to pack." Daine said, helping him up from his chair.

"And since when has this been decided?" He asked huffily, getting up from his chair. He walked towards the door, Daine behind him to push him when he stopped walking.

"When _some people_ decided to catch up on the sleep they missed last night due to a project that they _promised _themselves they would only spend five more minutes on when, in reality, they did not sleep a wink because of that certian project."

"You know, I don't really like those times, much."

The next day, they were at Pirate's Swoop and already setting into a regular routine. "Master Numair is so cute." The voice drifted over the wall, from the side that Daine and Numair could not see from where their lesson was taking place, but the voice was very familiar: Miri's.

"Well," He said, looking up at the top of the wall as if Miri would be there, waiting to see his reaction. "Cute was not exactly what I was going for." He stated

"And what was your goal?" Daine asked, looking up from her book of mammalian anatomy.

"Handsome, Dashing, Brave, Chivalrous. But cute?" He winced. "It makes me seem like a pet, or a child. I am neither."

"With the way you're taking this, I wouldn't doubt the latter." Daine commented, biting back a smile before turning back to her book.

"Hey, that's not-" Numair's protests were interrupted by the noon bell, signaling it was time for lunch. "Well, come on, magelet." He said, helping her to her feet when the bell's chimes no longer echoed through the Swoop. "Alanna will bite our heads off if we are late, I swear that woman needs to take a vacation, that's not what she's doing here, having a whole new wing added and watching it every step of the way."

"Maybe she feels like she needs to do something, maybe she feels useless if she doesn't and maybe she doesn't laze around all day like some people I could mention." Daine said, first thoughtful, then teasing.

"I do _not _laze around all day, that is simply your imagination."

"It is not. If I had a good imagination, I would pretend you did something useful with your time." Daine retorted pertly

"Then you must have a wonderful imagination for yourself because I do-" Again, Numair was cut off. This time by Alanna.

"Daine, stop flirting with your teacher and get to lunch before it's all cold." Alanna repremanded, face not twitching until Daine and Numair's looks of shock had worn off and they had walked on. Then she silently grinned where they couldn't see her.

Daine walked with Numair, completly confused. She hadn't been flirting with Numair, or at least, she hadn't meant to. Did Alanna know. Did she guess? "Numair..." She started, but she couldn't ask. She was too afraid of what the answer might be.

"I think Alanna thinks that we might be cute together, but doesn't really know anything. She would have let us know, and not quietly, I might add." He reminded her. Daine nodded and she did actually agree. Alanna would have yelled for hours if she had found out, especially without them telling her.

"Should we tell them?" Numair stopped and she did too. "We can't hide it forever and the longer we wait, the angrier Alanna will get, along with all of our other not-so-even tempered friends. And it feels like lying, not telling them. It feels wrong. Please, Numair?" She looked up at him.

"Alright, at lunch, now." He said finally, after a long and hard internal struggle. Daine beamed up at him and hugged him before trotting to lunch. He trotted to catch up with her and then moved at a swift walk, because his legs were so much longer than hers that he could manage to keep one foot on the ground while she ran slowly. When they reached the dining hall, Daine stopped and walked in calmly, as if it was just another lunch, Numair at her heels. Lunch began, a very loud meal with all of the riders there with them, along with Alanna's family. But Alanna didn't show and, after a quiet discussion with Numair, they agreed that it was best that Alanna was informed at the same time as everyone else, if not earlier. They had no idea what was going on at the other side of the table.

"Da, when will Uncle Numy and Daine realize that they love each other?" Seven-year-old Alan asked his father. The Baron choked on the chicken in his mouth and, after much coughing and a gulp of water, replied.

"Alan, Daine and Numair are friends, they aren't..." His voice trailed off. They certianly acted like lovers. And he had always put that thought out of his mind, because of their age differance, but many other couples had age gaps just as big as or larger than their and were married, happily. And they had certianly seemed different after they had come back from the Divine Realms. He knew they were holding something back, the way they blinked before they spoke of some things, or looked straight into their questioner's eyes, they were lying. And yet, he had always thought it was not his place to pry, but they were both great friends of his. Perhaps he didn't need to do that. Perhaps, he could make it seem as if he wanted them together.

"Da, why didn't you finish answering Alan's question?" Alan's twin sister Aly asked him. He smiled down at them.

"I'm not quite sure of the answer, Aly, but I will be soon, and then I'll answer it."

Later, after lunch was over, George sought out two riders who were friends with Daine and Numair. He found them in Evin and Miri. "Evin, Miri. Hello, how are you today?"

"Good." They chorused, looking confused. Why was the Baron talking to them?

"How would you two like to help me out a bit? You see, I feel that there is a couple that's in love with each other, but I need proof. That's where you two come in."

"Are you talking about Daine and Numair?" Miri asked him. He just looked his shock. "We've thought the same thing, too. So what do you want us to do?"

"Just find a way to get them to admit it. Anything."

"Anything?" Evin asked, grinning.

"As long as you don't cause any harm. Or upset Alanna, because then she'll find out I had to do with this and she has a way to find out, beleive me."

"Yessir!" Evin said, saluting the Baron. Miri laughed and dragged him off.

At dinner that night, Daine and Numair noticed that everyone seemed to be staring at them. "I think they know." She whispered to him, without moving her mouth.

"Alright, here's what we do. Step one: knock over that candle." He breathed back.

"Are you crazy? Alanna will be in fits?" She argued almost silently.

"Trust me. Just do it." He said. They continued on with their dinners. When Daine reached for the pitcher, she knocked over the candle next to it, setting fire to the tablecloth. "Daine, how could you do that!?!" Everyone, except for the servants, who were dousing the fire, froze and turned to stare in shock, including Daine herself. Alanna's face was redder than her hair. Her eyes widened and she fled, frightened.

The next morning, walking through the halls, Daine asked her lover. "Why'd we have to set the table on fire again?"

"Well, now everyone's focused on Alanna being upset with you and all and nobody has time to think about whether or not we're a couple."

"Oh, I get it now."

"Get what now?" Evin and Miri were walking towards them. "Nevermind. Alanna wants to see you in the sitting room. Come on." Daine followed woodenly, mainly moving because Miri had taken hold of her wrist and was dragging her to the sitting room.

"Hello, Daine, Numair. Thank you, Evin and Miri." She glanced at Daine's face. "I'm not mad at you. Just wondering, are you two in love with each other?" The couple blinked and gaped openly at the Lioness.

"Er, no." Daine said, trying her best to sound like that was the most rediulous thing she had ever heard.

"Well then, you won't mind if I do this -" Evin said, and kissed her full on the lips. Daine just stood there, even more shocked than before, but Numair's face had turned red and he lunged at Evin. George held him back.

"RIght." Alanna said, smiling mischeiviously. "Just wondering."

"I think they know." Daine whispered loudly to Numair. She looked at Alanna. "Are you mad?"

"Didn't I tell you before that I wasn't? I'm so happy for you and that you finally realized you two love each other."

"What do you mean 'finally'?" Numair asked, breaking free from George's hold.

"Nothing." Alanna said elusivly.

That night, Daine tip-toed out of Numair's bedroom as the sky turned gray with the sun to be fully risen in a few hours time. "What are you doing?" Alanna asked from the shadows.

"Going to bed." Daine said, trying to walk away.

"Why weren't you there already?"

"I was...getting a drink of water." She invented, though it took her so long that it was painfully obvious that she was lying.

"Have you slept with Numair?" Alanna asked. She hadn't really thought of that yet...

"No!" That was not a lie. Sort of. She hadn't slept with him in the sense Alanna meant. He was too noble.

"You have, haven't you?" She pounded on the door Daine had just left. "Numair, open this door." Numair stumbled through the doorway a few minutes later, his eyelids heavy and his hair mussed. "You've slept with Daine!" She exclaimed, not loud enought to wake the rest of the household up but still too loud for his liking.

"What? No!" He protested. "She was just sleeping here. Ok, I know that sounds really bad, but we haven't done what you think we have. I promise, Alanna."

"I can tell if you're lying, you know."

"Yes, Alanna, I know, I can do that, too. I'm not lying so it would be a waste of magic. Can I go back to sleep now?" He asked, yawning. She nodded.

"I'm going to go to bed, too-" Daine said, starting to walk off.

"Oh, no you don't. Come here." Alanna led her to the healer's workshop. She took something from one of the cupboards. Daine recognized it as an anti-pregnancy charm, but it looked much more expensive than the one her mother had sold. "Just in case." Alanna said, grinning wickedly.

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This is for a contest so please vote for me at the DN writer's faction! Please! And review! Thanks - Emma


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